Balala, who hosted the two governors at his Nairobi office yesterday, said his ministry would also support efforts by the two county chiefs to develop tourism in their respective regions.

"Mombasa and Kilifi are the bedrock of tourism, not just at the Coast, but in Kenya as a whole. That is why we have agreed that going forward, the governors will jointly develop strategies to market their tourist attractions and my ministry is ready to support their efforts," said Balala.

Joho, Balala and Kingi also agreed to campaign for major events to be hosted in the two counties.

They agreed to support the 79th Skal Congress to be held in Mombasa from October 17-21.

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Balala lauded Joho for cleaning and beautifying the port city. "I urge you to speed up the preparations to ensure Mombasa is ready to host the more than 1,500 delegates," said Balala.

"We promised to cooperate with the national government fully as we seek to improve the lives of our people," said Joho.